(CNN) – Scientists confirmed the discovery of two huge new species of dinosaurs in northwest China, one of the first vertebrates discovered in the region, according to a new study published Thursday.
In recent years, several fossils have appeared in the northwestern region of China, including Xinjiang and the Turpan-Hami basin. The fossils contain several pterosaurs (flying reptiles), preserved embryos and eggs, as well as fossil fragments of spinal vertebrae and rib cages, which scientists initially identified as belonging to three mysterious dinosaurs.
Since then, researchers have determined that two of those specimens belonged to previously unknown species, which they have dubbed Silutitan sinensis (“silu” means “silk road” in Mandarin) and Hamititan xinjiangensis, alluding to the region in which they were found. Both incorporate the Greek word “titan”, which means “giant”, in reference to their size.
It is estimated that the specimen of Silutitan measured more than 20 meters, while that of Hamititan he was 17 meters tall. This makes dinosaurs almost as big as blue whales, which are between 23 and 30 meters, depending on the hemisphere they are in.
The researchers, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Museum of Brazil, published their findings in Scientific Reports, which is part of the Nature family of journals.
Hamititan xinjiangensis (left) and Silutitan sinensis (right), depicted in an artistic illustration.
The fossil fragments have been dated to the early Cretaceous period, between 120 and 130 million years ago. The two new species belong to the sauropod family, a group of herbivorous dinosaurs known for their distinctive long necks, and which were the largest animals to ever walk the earth.
Apart from a pterosaur species and a theropod tooth, these two dinosaurs are also the first vertebrates recorded in this region, “increasing the diversity of the fauna as well as the information on Chinese sauropods,” the study says. .
The third specimen studied by the researchers is not a new species, but could be a somofondine sauropod, a group of dinosaurs that lived from the late Jurassic to the late Cretaceous.
Researchers have made several discoveries in China in recent decades, shedding more light on the diversity of sauropods in East Asia, according to the study, although the relationships between the species and their taxonomic classification are still debated. and where they are in the dinosaur family tree.
China is living in a golden age of paleontology, with exciting fossil discoveries scattered across the country; at the beginning of this year A preserved dinosaur was found sitting on a nest of eggs with fossilized embryos in southeast China, while the last september Another new species was discovered in the northeast of the country.